This Kansas City Star article on homelessness highlights the problem of homelessness in Johnson County, Kansas and references Catholic Charities’ Shalom House, which provides services for homeless men.

For most of her life, Sharon Rodriguez looked away when she saw homeless people.

“I always saw them as somebody not to talk to, to stay away from, to ignore,” says Rodriguez, who lives in Olathe.

That changed a year and a half ago, when Rodriguez spotted a shelter made out of a tarp while walking in Ernie Miller Park. At first she thought it was a camp for Boy Scouts. Then she realized that the makeshift tent belonged to someone with nowhere else to go.

Rodriguez was shocked to find out that there were homeless people in Johnson County, the wealthiest county in Kansas. The median household income is $76,113, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures.